Why is Dennis Allen so happy? Because this is a Raiders roster–three years into his tenure–that he can fully embrace

ALAMEDA—Dennis Allen is the happiest, cheeriest, most galvanized Raiders coach I’ve seen since…

Well, geez, I can’t really think of any truly happy Raiders coach, at least not for the last 10 years or so.

(I’m not counting Hue Jackson’s rambunctious reign, because his moods went beyond all normal emotional measurements.)

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Of course Allen himself wasn’t nearly this gleeful in his previous two seasons as Raiders coach—at times, to tell the truth, he was deservedly defensive.

But as the Raiders wrapped up their mini-camp on Thursday, Allen looked so enthused by this new-look roster that he seemed to float from drill to drill.

Asked afterwards if he could sense how much his team has improved just by standing in the middle of a practice, Allen practically radiated the happy vibes.

“I don’t think there’s any question you can feel that,” Allen said.

“You guys have been around here too. I think you’ve seen these practices here for awhile. I think we’ve had an outstanding offseason.”

He’s right. Anybody who watched those dismal Raiders practices and position groups in the past can tell that they’re moving with an extra pep these days.

It doesn’t mean they’re guaranteed to do much better than the 4-12 records under Allen the last two seasons, but it means the coach feels better about the entire process.

Basically, Year 1 of the Allen/Reggie McKenzie tenure was about getting a fix on the trouble they were in and starting the tear down.

Year 2 was dealing with the bare bones roster, gritting through the last year of the salary-cap crunch, and trying to establish a base structure.

Now this is the start of Year 3, when they’ve added a bunch of players who fit the Allen/McKenzie archetype and are aiming for a big push.

Oh and yes, Allen and McKenzie will undoubtedly need a big push up the standings to guarantee a Year 4 of this era.

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For now, the result is tangibly impressive:

The Raiders have two new quarterbacks (Matt Schaub and Derek Carr) who are better than anybody they had last year; Khalil Mack, a new rookie linebacker with immense potential; interesting new defensive backs and bigger, faster players on both lines.

So I asked defensive lineman Justin Tuck, what do you think about the quality of this roster?

“Very talented,” said Tuck, who won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants before signing with the Raiders in March.

“But we haven’t put on pads yet. So that’s when you figure out if guys can play football.”

It’s fair to point out—as I have–that most of these additions are middle-aged players who might be on the downside of their careers.

But when you look at the field and see Tuck, LaMarr Woodley, Matt Schaub, Derek Carr, Donald Penn and especially rookie LB Khalil Mack… you see a different Raiders team from 2013…

You can understand why Allen is so thrilled, and why he can’t wait for the start of training camp in a month.

On Thursday, with the month-long NFL vacation set to start, the Raiders didn’t at all lollygag through this practice.

They worked at a fast pace, they communicated to each other, and they bounded from drill to drill with some amount of palpable energy.

There were some good plays by the offense—particularly throws over the middle by Matt Schaub.

And some good pays by the defense—particularly when Mack was involved or when the ball was thrown within reach of the young Raiders defensive backs.

There is one big problem—2013 first-round pick D.J. Hayden missed the entire mini-camp with an ankle issue, just as the cornerback missed almost all of the off-season work last season after surgery to remove scar tissue on his abdomen.

“Yeah, I don’t think there’s any way you can sugar coat that–he’s behind,” Allen said of Hayden.

“But like I said the other day it’s nothing that he can’t overcome. He needs to be healthy and he needs to be out here and he needs to work. We’ll see where he’s at when we go to training camp.”

That’s just about the only sour note, and even then, Allen said it with a shrug, not a scowl.

This is his kind of roster, with his kinds of players. And while it’s far from perfect, it sure beats that depressing assemblage that the Raiders and Allen ran out there for the last two years.